Looking Forward

The manuscript is now on its way to the publisher and I couldn’t be more pleased. I don’t really have a sense of how long the wait will be given that what I sent back today is a revised manuscript. My guess is that the publisher will send it out to one of the reviewers before making a decision. Regardless of what decision is made it is nice to bring this phase of my research to a close. The timing was perfect. Back in January I decided to order a new bass from Sadowsky Guitars. Roger Sadowsky has been making basses for some of the top players since the 1970s and his preamps totally rock. It was an expensive investment, but with a 6-month waiting time (mid-June/July) I thought it might be a nice gift to myself on the completion of the manuscript. Well, don’t you know the bass took longer than expected to complete as did my manuscript. As if things couldn’t get any better, today the company forwarded me a couple of pics of my new Ultra-Vintage ’70s Metro. I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

As you might expect I am going to take a little break from blogging for about ten days. To be honest, I don’t want to read or think about the Civil War during that time. I am hoping to begin the next book, which I’ve tentatively titled, Searching for Black Confederates in History and Memory, very soon. The first thing I am going to do is begin work on the article about Silas Chandler with his great granddaughter. This is going to be the perfect jumping off point for the larger project. Our goal is not to use the Chandler story to debunk the kinds of claims that are all too prevalent Online, but to demonstrate that these stories are much more complicated and interesting than what is typically asserted. We have a wealth of documentation about Chandler and it shows that almost nothing that you’ve read is accurate. If, however, we succeed in throwing light on the quality of research that goes into just about every example through a close look at Chandler then so be it.

Since I won’t be posting for two weeks I thought I might issue a little challenge. I would like you to share any references you may have come across in archival collections or printed wartime sources authored by Confederate soldiers discussing their black comrades in arms. Please don’t waste my time with pension records and other postwar sources. I’ve been reading accounts for close to 10 years and I’ve never come across an example where a soldier refers to a black comrade. For those of you convinced that I am out to destroy all things sacred this is your chance to stick it to me and teach me something new. And in the process you will help me write a better book on the subject. Remember, I am not looking for accounts that reference laborers or servants. We’re talking about legitimate black Confederate soldiers. Good luck.

"In this stunning and well-researched book, Kevin Levin catches the new waves of the study of memory, black soldiers, and the darker underside of the Civil War as well as anyone has." -David Blight, author of Race and Reunion

Greetings – if possible, I am very interested in talking to you about publishing. I am a writer, a poet. I have wriiten extensively about the Civil War. Many of my CW poems have been published in respected journals and reviews. I am hoping to put a full collection together – well, it’s already together. I simply need to find a publisher. Any advice? By the way, if you’re interested, you can read my work on my blog.

“I don’t really have a sense of how long the wait will be given that what I sent back today is a revised manuscript.”

Basic rule of thumb: everything in the Editorial Department takes nearly twice as long as people sincerely hope. So multiply any time estimate you receive from your editor by two, and you’ll rarely be disappointed. Once the Production Department is involved, schedules mean what they say.